


More Than Enough

by catwaked



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M, First Kiss, High School, Relationship(s), Romance, Teenagers, bughead - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-14
Updated: 2017-03-14
Packaged: 2018-10-04 21:52:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10290944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/catwaked/pseuds/catwaked
Summary: What happens when Jughead discovers a secret that Betty has been keeping? What would have been a blissful Sunday afternoon is potentially ruined when he confronts her about it, or is it? Could something greater come from the Pandora's box that Jughead is about to open up?





	

**Author's Note:**

> I published this on both Fanfiction (a while back) and Tumblr more recently. I'm trying to work on my writing a bit more, so I'm hoping for some feedback from all of you lovelies. Let me know what you all think :)

“Hey Betts, your phone is ringing!” Jughead called out from the desk in the Blue and Gold headquarters. It was an office first and foremost, but they had come to calling it their headquarters until their investigation was completed.

It was Sunday afternoon and both teenagers were exhausted. The duo were working on another piece about Jason Blossom, and had spent the better part of their weekend cooped up together in the office with empty takeout cartons scattered around them. Betty was on the couch, editing yet again their rough draft with a red pen twirling in her hand.   “Just ignore it. It might be my mom and I definitely don’t want to speak to her right now”. 

Shaking her head, she refused to speak to her mom after their discoveries at Jason’s funeral. Not only did they stop her from seeing Polly, they hid something as important as an engagement from her. Realizing that she could no longer focus on her work, she stood up from the couch and stretched her arms over her head, groaning in satisfaction as she felt her spine crack. 

Jughead looked up at the sound of Betty groaning and stared, hypnotized by his blonde friend. Her stretch caused her shirt to ride up over her midriff, showing smooth pale skin and Jughead could feel a telltale blush making its way up his neck to his face. She had undone her usual ponytail earlier and he was still unaccustomed to seeing her full, blonde hair loose, curling around her shoulders. Who knew that just a simple work session could make him feel so frustrated. She’s his best friend, he shouldn’t be thinking about her like this. Clearing his throat and looking back down at his laptop, he tried to concentrate on the article but was unable to do so with the blonde beauty sitting next to him.   
 Betty’s cellphone ringing again shook Jughead out of his thoughts. Reaching into her schoolbag, he pulled out her phone and went to decline the call like he had done millions of times before. His friendship with Betty wasn’t quite the same as she and Archie used to be but theirs was a stronger, more intense one. There were no flitting feelings between the two of them, and that allowed a closer camaraderie to develop. Theirs was more intense. It was inevitable, trying to solve a murder with someone did end up bringing you close together. They finished each others sentences, they answered each others phones, spent their weekends together at the Blue and Gold, and surprisingly enough, the Coopers didn’t hate Jughead the way they did Archie. 

Betty was a good influence on Jughead, they said. She got him into doing his homework, joining an extracurricular activity and broke through that sardonic, sarcastic armour he’d donned so early on in life. They weren’t crazy about their daughter being out at all hours of the night, but due to the ongoing drama with Veronica and Archie, they preferred that she spent her time with fellow aspiring journalists and writers like Jughead. 

With Archie, she felt this pressure. This constant need to be the ‘golden girl’. She had to be perfect if she wanted to be good enough to be his girlfriend, she had to always look perfect, sound perfect, be perfect. She was always so careful, so exact in everything she did because of how she felt about him, scared that even the smallest slip could ruin everything she had worked so hard for. Ultimately, that was what ruined it all in the end. He didn’t want her because she was ‘too perfect’ and he felt like he wasn’t good enough for her. He was her best friend, she had imagined a future with him, she had grown up picturing a picket-fence house with kids running around. She hadn’t ever pictured anything else and having to accept that none of that would happen was one of the hardest things. She thought it was normal to be honest. She genuinely thought that being in love with someone meant that she felt the way she did. She thought that she felt safest and most herself when she was with him, in a booth at Pops. Turns out that she was wrong, and Forsythe Pendleton Jones III was the one to prove it.

Trying to get a grip on everything, she had started taking her adderall again. She had stopped taking it at the beginning of the semester, wanting to see what would happen to her school and life if she didn’t drug herself. She had managed well, her grades hadn’t slipped but then she lost control of everything with Archie and couldn’t make heads or tails of anything anymore. That loss of control, that feeling of 4 walls closing in on her again-the way it had so many times before-she didn’t know how to maintain control and fell back into the habit she worked so hard to break. 

Betty made her way to the chair next to her friend and sat down, laying her head on his shoulder while he typed. There was something relaxing about being near Jughead. She didn’t have to make sure that her hair was perfect, that her clothes were ironed, that she was wearing makeup. None of that mattered to him. He made her feel at ease, as though she didn’t have to be the perfectionist her parents so often expect of her. She could say whatever she wanted, without being worried about hurting anyone’s feelings. He made her feel peaceful, and in light of everything else going on, it was exactly what she needed. She didn’t think about the fact that she was back on prescription medication to get through 8 hours of school each day, or that her institutionalized sister was engaged to the now officially dead high school quarterback. 

It’s the weirdest feeling, really. He was her best friend and he made her feel ways that Archie never did. Being around Jughead soothed her inner demons, eased all her fears. He helped in ways she could never even begin to explain to him, and in the last few weeks, he had become one of her most important people. She couldn’t have imagined going through any of this with anyone else. She couldn’t imagine not having him in her life at this point. She texted him at all hours of the day and he was always willing to talk about whatever she was thinking of. She had witnessed him grow from the little boy with a long nose to an older, taller man who was willing to do anything for his friends. Looking up at the man sitting next to her, she let out a sigh of contentment. ‘He really is attractive’ she thought. From his dark unruly hair, to his piercing green eyes, he was certainly more attractive than people realized. She reached up to brush some hair off his neck but caught herself mid-act. Shocking herself out of her reverie, she stood up abruptly.

Jughead turned to look at the now flustered blonde. “Betts? Are you okay?” He began to get up from his chair to take a step closer to her but she shook her head.   
 “No, no. I’m fine. Just, uh, gonna clean up the mess we made this weekend and bring it to the recycling outside.” Betty began scurrying around the office, picking up all the empty cartons and piling them into a recycling box. 

Jughead just stared at her. When she had put her head on his shoulder, he froze. He didn’t know what to do and she hadn’t realized that he was looking at her through the reflection of the laptop. She sure was acting weird today. She was looking at him the way she used to look at Archie-not that he minded of course. He was sure that there was something more between them, something electrifying. He just didn’t know what to do about it, or how to get around to bringing it up. He had just reconciled with Archie and he wasn’t sure that the redhead would react very well to the news of him and Betty together. Not that they were together, but Jughead was sure that to a certain extent, Archie did have feelings for Betty.

Betty had finally picked up everything and was heading the door now to drop off the recycling. While Principal Weatherbee didn’t mind that they used the office on weekends, they had promised that they wouldn’t make a mess of it. As soon as Betty left the room, her phone started ringing again. 

Frustrated and grateful for the distraction it provided, Jughead reached his hand into Betty’s school bag, not quite paying attention to what he was doing. Digging around, he found the offending device but as he went to grab it, he heard the telltale jiggle of a pill bottle. Stopping at that noise, Jughead finally looked down at what he was doing and saw that there was in fact a prescription bottle at the bottom of Betty’s bag. Praying that she wouldn’t walk in right now, he pulled it out and read the prescription.

——————————

Betty struggled to carry the giant green bin to the recycling room. The school had a designated closet that connected to a chute outside. This way students could bring their recycling and not have to worry about going outside during the cold season. 

‘How much food did we eat this weekend?’ she mused, looking into the bin. ‘Then again, it is Jughead that we’re talking about’. Giggling, she made her way down the hall. While she didn’t mind the trek, it was across the school from the Blue and Gold, so she had quite a bit of time to herself. 

Betty repositioned the bin and her thoughts strayed back to the dark haired boy in the office. She was sure that she hadn’t imagined what happened before. Back before Jason’s funeral, Betty and Jughead had a moment in her bedroom, they had locked eyes and it was intense, but they hadn’t mentioned it since. This was all getting to be a fine mess. Two weeks ago she would have told you that she was madly in love with Archie Andrews, and today she’s thinking about how attractive Jughead Jones is. She was sure that her feelings went beyond those of a platonic friendship but she didn’t want to push it just in case things didn't work out. She struggled enough losing Archie, but to lose Jughead would push her over the edge. Betty contemplated the idea of asking Jughead out for dinner that night but then thought against it. She’d only do that if something as crazy as them kissing were to happen.

“Well, crazy does run in our family.” Betty whispered as she opened the closet door and emptied the bin into the recycling chute. Shaking it a few times to make sure that she got it all, she closed the closet door and began to make her way back to the office. There was a slight kick to her step, feeling lighter than she had in weeks and it was all thanks to Jughead Jones. 

Walking down the hall, Betty was unaware of the storm brewing within the man in question who was waiting for her in the office.

——————————

Jughead placed the pill bottle down on the now cleared desk, and sat down on the edge of the desk that was facing the door. He had braced his hands on either side of him and waited for Betty, trying to look as casual as possible. Seeing her reflection in the glass window, he straightened his spine a little and decided to cross his arms across his chest at the last minute. 

Betty smiled at Jughead as soon as she walked into the room, and he faltered a little bit. She looked so happy, did he really want to do this? Did he really want to have this conversation with her?

Betty went to the corner of the office to put away the recycling and decided that opening a window would allow the office to get some nice fresh air. As much as she loved the room, it was starting to smell a bit stale in here. Clearing his throat, Jughead took a deep breath.   
 “Tell me Betty, have you had ADHD for a while?” 

“What? Of course I don’t have ADHD Juggie! What kind of a silly question is that?” She looked back at him as she opened the window and smiled, pulling that silly face he had come to adore. Refusing to falter again, he glowered at her. Once the window was fully opened and secured, she looked back at her best friend and realized that he wasn’t laughing.

“Then maybe you’d like to explain why you have a prescription for adderall in your school bag?” He held up the bottle in question, with the name Elizabeth Cooper written clearly in block letters.

Betty covered her mouth, she didn’t quite know what to tell him. This was something she hadn’t told anyone. Sure Jughead was her best friend, but she was entitled to her secrets every now and then, wasn’t she? She didn’t have to tell someone every little secret she ever had. 

“Betty, are you taking these? Are you knowingly drugging yourself to get ahead in school?” He shook the bottle in front of her, cruelly. He thought she was better than that. He thought she was above medicating herself just to be the best. Tears began forming in Betty’s eyes at the accusations and while he felt disgusted with himself, he needed to know.

“No! Jughead, you don’t understand!” Betty cried and reached out to grab the bottle from him, but he kept it just out of reach. She held her hands together in front of her chest.

“Then make me understand. I’d like to know just why you think this is okay?” He held firm in his convictions, trying to get her to explain, to try and justify just why she thought she needed drugs like this.

“It’s not me! It’s .. Oh Juggie!” Never one to be hysterical, Betty covered her face with her hands as she cried. Jughead was taken aback by the sudden emotion from his best friend and put down the pill bottle. Reaching out, he wrapped his arms around her while she cried.

“Betty … What’s going on? Are you sick? Do you need help?” He asked as gently as possible. He rubbed her back while she cried into his shoulder.

“I’m not Polly! I’m not crazy! I swear!” She sobbed almost hysterically. Jughead kept whispering gently, trying to calm her down enough that she could piece together a coherent sentence. This in turn, only made her cry harder and it was as though he’d broken through a dam of emotions she’d kept together for so long. He brought her to the couch while she kept crying, trying to find a way to ease through her pain, and his guilt for starting this. Sitting her down, he kept comforting her and eventually her crying slowed.

“Feeling a bit better?” He asked gently, as though he was afraid that she’d start crying all over again. Betty nodded and wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand.

“After Polly was… sent away, my parents didn’t know how to react. I didn’t know how to react. I had stopped eating, stopped sleeping, wasn’t studying. My mother didn’t know what to do so she started looking up ways to help me study, and found out about adderall. She convinced a doctor to give me a prescription and for the last year, I’ve been taking it to get through school.” 

She looked down at her hands, ashamed. “I tried stopping Juggie, I did. I hid the bottle from her, kept it with me at all times, anything to get her to forget about it. It worked until Veronica came to town. She started micro-managing my life again and kept pushing me to take the pills. I didn’t want to, I swear Jughead. I didn’t want to.” At the last sentence, her voice cracked and Jughead felt compelled to pull her to his chest again and just hold her. 

“God, Betty. I’m sorry. I didn’t realize that it was your mom making you take them. I’m so sorry”. He kept his arms around her, relishing in the feel. ‘Get it together Jughead. She’s crying for god’s sake’. Mental battle unbeknownst to Betty, Jughead sat there with her for what felt like forever. 

“Okay here. Let’s do this then” and with that, Jughead got up and threw the pills into the garbage. “No more of that, okay Betty?” He sat back down next to her on the couch. 

“Juggie… Is it me? Am I too much?” She looked up at him with her big blue eyes and he didn’t know what to say. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder again and felt her lean her head on his chest. Opening his mouth to respond, she surprisingly continued.

“I tried so hard to be perfect for everyone, for my mom, my dad, the teachers, for Archie. I just felt like if I was perfect, everyone would be okay. I thought that if I was good enough, perfect enough, Archie would have loved me back.” Sitting up, she disentangled herself from Jughead and leaned forward, bracing her arms onto her knees and lay her chin on her clasped hands.

“I mean, I get it now. I know that I can’t be perfect and that I don’t actually love Archie the way I thought I did. I just felt like my problems disappeared when he was there. It wasn’t actually love. I was just reflecting the feelings I wanted from my parents onto the boy I’d known for years. I just thought that if I tried enough, if I was good enough that someone would love me.” Taking in a shuddering breath, Betty hadn’t anticipated such a heavy conversation on such a beautiful Sunday afternoon.

“Betty … Betts. You are good enough. If Archie is too blind to notice it, how is it your fault? You haven’t done anything wrong. You’re wonderful, and so smart and so beautiful. You don’t know how amazing you are because you’ve spent so much time letting people tear you down.” Scooting to the edge of the sofa they were on, he grabbed her hands and held them in his, looking her in the eye. 

Betty looked down at their hands then looked back up at Jughead. He was still looking at her, eyes searching for her face for something. She didn’t quite know what, but she felt compelled to say something. Opening her mouth, she licked her lips, about to speak when she noticed that his eyes immediately dropped to her lips and very slowly lifted back up to her eyes. 

Feeling her face flush, Betty was almost sure that whatever he felt for her, it was somewhat similar to the thoughts she’d been battling all day. Lifting her left hand, she cupped his cheek gently. She had never noticed just how soft his lips looked before, so full, and pink, and smooth. Leaning in, her eyes locked on his. She was so scared that something would ruin this moment. She was so close to him that she could feel his breath on her skin. She felt him cradle the back of her head with his hand, fingers tangled in her hair and closed her eyes. 

She wasn’t quite sure what was happening. The atmosphere in the room was charged, there was so much tension between the two. She held her breath, anticipating the feel of his lips on hers. She couldn’t believe that it was Jughead of all people, yet nothing felt more right. In retrospect, he made her feel things that no one else has. Is she really surprised that she’s so eager to kiss him?

She felt him brush his lips against hers, gently at first. She pressed against his cheeks with both hands, willing him to kiss her harder. With a groan muffled by Betty’s mouth, he wrapped his free arm around Betty’s waist and pulled her flush against him. He slanted his mouth over hers, and grabbed a handful of her hair while the other hand snuck down and lifted her into his lap. Betty, now sitting on his lap, had a leg on each side of him. She moved both hands to curl into his hair, causing his beanie to fall off. He kissed her as though he was a man dying of thirst and she was an ocean that lay ahead of him. His hands rubbed her back, one sitting at her waist and the other lay itself quite happily on her behind. He felt himself drowning in the kiss, unable to wrap his mind around the fact that this was Betty Cooper, his closest friend. 

Betty let out a sigh of contentment when they pulled away and she looked at him. He was flushed, breathing heavily and his beanie was somewhere over the other side of the couch. He never looked better. Leaning down, she brushed his lips against hers in a chaste kiss.

“Well … That was something else” Jughead usually tried to sound at least a little eloquent but even this was beyond him. Betty was still sitting quite comfortably on his lap, with no intention of moving any time soon. She giggled at his expression and he couldn’t help but feel proud of her appearance. Not only was she smiling, but she looked like someone that had just finished thoroughly making out with someone. Hair mussed, lips swollen and a telltale flush from her cheeks all the way to her neck. 

Betty let her hand play with the hair at the nape of his neck. She wasn’t quite sure what was making her act so forward, but for once she wanted to go on instinct. This felt right, more than anything else she had done and Jughead didn’t seem to be running away from her any time soon. 

“Maybe we could make this a reoccurring event?” Betty maintained eye contact. She didn’t want him to think that she regretted anything that happened. Jughead just looked at her and broke out into a crooked grin. 

“Whenever you want, Betts. Whenever you want.” At that she got off his lap, stood up and held out her hands expectantly. Jughead just grabbed her hands and dragged her to him for another kiss. 

“Well I hope you understand that I don’t plan on sharing you Mr. Jones” Betty teased. She flicked his nose with her finger and laughed. Jughead replied by wrapping his arms around her again. 

“Oh no Ms. Cooper, you aren’t going anywhere. In fact, the only place you’ll be heading is to Pops for some burgers and milkshakes with me”. Betty nodded, unable to stop herself from smiling.

Jughead walked over to where the bags were laying and picked them both up with his left hand. Turning around, he saw Betty putting on her jacket and held out his right hand. She made her way over and grabbed his hand with her left one, using her free hand to get her school bag from him. Walking out of the office, they let the door close behind them and made their way out of the school, holding hands. 

Come Monday, who knew what was going to happen. They both have their issues that they have to work through, they still have a murder to solve and they haven’t even breached the idea of telling their friends about their blossoming relationship. They found each other in an unlikely situation, and for the time being, that’s more than enough. Betty and Jughead.


End file.
